A Game of Truth and Dare
by Falling Angels
Summary: Rukia gives Ichigo and Renji a dare! Read to find out what it is...
1. Truth or Dare?

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, of course not!

**Truth Or Dare?**

"Yo, Kurosaki!" was the first greeting Ichigo received as he stepped into the room his friends had gathered in. Renji then followed up his greeting with a hearty slap on the back that almost caused Ichigo to bite off his tongue.

"WHAT SORT OF GREETING WAS THAT??!!" He turned and glared at the red-haired shinigami. In the background a chorus of "Kurosaki-kun!!", "You are late", "Hey", and "Ichigo." ensued.

"You could have received none at all." Renji turned his back on Ichigo.

"I might have liked that better." Ichigo turned the other way.

"What?! How dare y-" He was cut off by Rukia's foot slamming into his face.

"HEY! Why don't you kick him instead?" He groaned.

"That's because she-" Ichigo began, but was silenced by Rukia's fist.

"Shut up. Both of you." She added as they opened their mouths in protest. "Have some tea." A cup was shoved into both their hands. Still sending death glares at each other, they sipped their tea simultaneously.

Rukia's eyebrow twitched.

"And its time for a game! Right, Uryuu-kun?" Inoue bounced up, breaking the tension but rather ruining the moment by yanking on Ishida's front-of-his-suit too hard and slamming him face first into the table. "Ah… sorry, Uryuu-kun." She giggled as Ishida regained his composure.

"Lets play Truth and Dare!" She smiled broadly.

"What's that?" Rukia and Renji asked.

"It's a game." Chad said helpfully.

"Well you see, it's like this…" Inoue explained the rules of the game to both the shinigami. "I'll spin first!" She placed an empty sake bottle on the table.

She gave the bottle a quick spin, and it turned a few rounds before coming to rest on… Ishida.

"Truth or dare! Truth or dare!" She shrieked, causing everyone to wince.

"Dare, then." Ishida pushed his spectacles further up his nose.

"Strange, I thought you were the 'truth' type." Ichigo smirked.

"Whatever."

"Think of a dare! Quick think of a dare!" Inoue was as excitable as ever.

"Hmmm…" Renji grinned to himself, chuckling at some thought of his own.

"Please don't make me do anything that guy says." Ishida sweat-dropped.

"I agree." Rukia eyed Renji warily. "It would be a very wise idea not to do so."

"Thank you, Kuchiki-San."

"I know!" Inoue smiled triumphantly. "Uryuu-kun, you must drink ten cups of sake at once."

"But I don't hold my liquor well!" Ishida protested.

"It's a dare, it's a dare," She sang.

"You guys will be responsible for the consequences." Ishida warned.

"No problem." Ichigo filled ten cups of sake.

Ishida picked up the first one and started drinking.

One.

Two.

Three. He was still drinking.

Four.

Five. Looking a little woozy already?

Six.

Seven.

Eight. Oh, he was going down.

Nine.

Ten. Everyone watched with trepidation as Ishida downed the last cup.

Silence reigned supreme.

"Should we do something?"

" Shhh. I want to see what happens." Renji almost cackled.

"Uryuu-kun?" Rukia waved her hand in front of his face. After a moment, he looked up and stared straight at her.

"U-Uryuu-kun?" She was a little unnerved by his stare.

"Ah, starry, starry night." He sighed, before collapsing in a dead faint. Chad caught hold of him before his head crashed into the table.

Everyone was quiet for a few moments before all the hell broke loose.

"S-s-starry n-night?" Renji gasped for breath. "HAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Beside him, Ichigo was clutching his stomach.

"What do we do with Uryuu-kun now?" Inoue asked.

"Let him be." Was the unanimous reply.

"Alright. Since Uryuu-kun is in no state to spin the bottle, Chad will have to do it." She clapped her hands together.

Chad took hold of the bottle and spun it. Too hard. It flew off the table propeller- like and smashed Ichigo in the face.

"I apologise."

"I-It's okay." Ichigo had a sake bottled-shaped imprint on his face. "Just spin it again. Softly." And Chad did.

Three minutes later, it came to a rest pointing in between Renji and Ichigo. Both of them stared at the bottle, looked up at each other, and scrambled away from the spot as quickly as they could.

"It was slightly more towards him!" Ichigo yelled.

"In your dreams. It was more towards you." Renji retorted.

"Can't we spin again?"

"No. It must be either you or Abarai-kun." Inoue replied.

"Or, it could be both of you." Rukia smiled slyly. "Truth or dare, guys?"

Renji and Ichigo exchanged a look that said 'I don't like the look on her face.' Then, Ichigo said "Truth" at the same time Renji said "Dare". They both glared at each other again.

Ichigo pushed his sleeve up. "Ready?" He asked.

"You bet."

"On three."

"One. Two. Three."

"SCISSORS, PAPER, ROCK!"

Ichigo put out rock while Renji put paper.

"HA! I win, I win!" He gloated.

"Keh. In real life rock would squish paper." Ichigo grumbled.

"Okay. So here's what you have to do..." Rukia could hardly contain her mirth.


	2. You want us to WHAT!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach! Wish I did.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

**You Want Us to WHAT?!**

When Rukia was done telling them what they had to do, Ichigo looked like someone had clubbed him over the head and Renji's jaw had dropped to unbelievable depths.

"W-we can't!" Ichigo sputtered. "It's insane!"

"For once, I agree with him." Renji nodded.

"If you don't do it, you'll have to do a forfeit instead." Inoue's eyes glinted evilly.

'I don't even want to know what it is.' Renji and Ichigo gulped.

"I told you we should have chosen Truth."

"Shut up."

"We're dead."

"You're scared, aren't you?" Rukia grinned.

"Well, of course!" Ichigo glared at her. "I really do value my life and Byakuya will probably slice us up with Senbonzakura BEFORE we get his bloody hairclips!"

"That sounds a lot like Kuchiki-Taichou," Renji sighed.

"I'm sure Byakuya-san isn't so bad!" Inoue chirped. "All you have to do will be to ask nicely!"

"Yeah right. And he'll invite us to dinner after that." Ichigo mumbled.

"Well, we'll leave you two at it," Rukia stood up. "You have till tomorrow night." She paused. "By the way, Nii-sama always has an extra set of kenseikan in his room drawer."

"Bye Kurosaki-kun, Abarai-kun!" Inoue followed Rukia, Chad behind her carrying the still-unconscious Ishida.

"Good luck." He whispered as he walked past.

Rukia could be heard saying "I really like this game." as she went out the door.

'I am so going to kill her.' Renji and Ichigo fumed.

They stared at each other in silence, until Renji finally asked "So, what are we going to do?"

"You're looking at me for ideas?" Ichigo scratched his head. "If we are going to succeed, we need Byakuya drunk, something he hasn't been since he was born. Not to mention the fact that we also need someone to distract him while someone else shunpo-es into the room, grabs the kenseikan and gets the hell outta there. We don't even know where the bloody hell his room is."

"Yeah, and who in their right mind would help us? Not forgetting the only person Kuchiki-Taichou can be beaten in shunpo by is… is…" Renji trailed off. "Hey… wait a minute."

He looked up at Ichigo.

Ichigo stared back at him.

"Yoruichi-san!!!" They exclaimed.

"And the sake and the distraction can be left to?"

"Who else? Who else? The one and only master of sake… Shunsui!" Ichigo gleefully replied.

"Right!" Renji started looking slightly more hopeful. "I can handle Shunsui."

"Then I'll get Yoruichi-san."

"We'll meet back here as soon as possible?"

"No problem." They got up and went outside.

"Don't be too long, Kurosaki." Renji said, shunpo-ing off.

"Wha-" Ichigo glared daggers in the direction Renji had gone. "Boy does he get on my nerves!!

-bleachbleachbleachbleachbleachbleachbleach-

Renji shunpo-ed through the streets of Seireitei towards the Eighth Division headquarters. As it came into sight, slowed down, thinking "I just hope Shunsui doesn't think I'm spouting a load of crap."

Carefully pushing open the huge double doors, he found himself standing in a long corridor, with two more corridors on either side of him and dozens of doors all the way down.

'Where do I go? This isn't anything like the Sixth Division!' He desperately ran a few steps forward, before being stopped by a huge gust of wind.

"HELLO ABARAI-KUN!!!!!!!" Shunsui appeared amidst a dust storm, clutching a bottle of sake in his hand and looking, well, drunk.

"I sensed your reiatsu, so I came along to check it out!" He gave Renji a wobbly smile.

Before Renji could reply, Nanao-chan appeared beside Shunsui, looking grumpy and windswept.

"Taichou! Please do not disappear like that!" She scolded, patting stray strands of hair into place and straightening her vice-captain robes. "Abarai-san" She inclined her head in greeting to Renji.

"Ise-fukutaichou." Renji nodded in return.

"What brings you here at this time of the night?" She asked.

"Sakeee, lovely lovely sakeee!" Shunsui belted out.

"Oh be quiet, Taichou." Nanao-chan pulled his straw hat down over his face.

"How nice! A game! Am I supposed to find you?" Shunsui stuck his hands out and waved them around wildly.

"Taichou! Stop it!" She and Renji ducked to avoid being slapped in the face.

"Alright." Shunsui stopped immediately, straightening his hat. "So, Abarai-kun, what is it you are here for?"

"Uh…" Renji sweat-dropped. "Well, you see, I… need some help."

"I'll help! I'll help! Pick me! Me!" Shunsui jumped up and down ecstatically.

"I pro- What?! But you haven't even heard what you have to do yet!" Renji gabbled.

"That's right, Taichou, sober up please."

Renji proceeded to explain everything that had happened and what he needed Shunsui to do. When he had finished, Nanao-chan was chuckling softly.

"How you manage to consistently get into these situations never ceases to amaze me," She told Renji.

"Please. Don't remind me." He groaned.

"Well, I'm in." Shunsui clapped his hands together happily. "I've always wanted to see Byakuya drunk."

"Really?" Renji heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you!"

"However, before we meet up with Ichigo, let's have some sake!" He dragged Renji along with him as he went to raid the wine-cellar.

'Oh no…'


	3. All Set?

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach…

A/N: Sorry for the late update! I'll be busy next week so I won't be updating next week too! -cackles evilly- Hang in there! Review!

**All Set?**

Meanwhile, Ichigo was tearing through Seireitei in a madcap frenzy.

'Where could she be? Where could she be where could she be WHERE THE HELL IS SHE' He stopped, gasping for breath, forcing himself to calm down. 'Deep breaths. Take deep breaths. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe – AH THIS IS DRIVING ME NUTS!! Think, Ichigo, think. Yoruichi-San's not in any of the divisions. She is not back on Earth. She's not with Soi Fon…SHE'S NOT ANYWHERE!' He cursed under his breath. 'Where would she go? She doesn't have any friends here, does she? Friends, friends… eh?'

He smacked himself on the forehead. "Of course! Kuukaku! I didn't even think of her!" Starting to sprint off, he shook his head. "I am such an idiot sometimes."(Note implied meaning)

Shortly after, he arrived at his destination. The familiar sight of the two huge arms holding a banner across the house made him smile despite his situation. 'Some things never change.' His moment of nostalgia was disrupted about two milliseconds later, as Kuukaku's two genie-like servants popped out of nowhere, causing Ichigo to jump in shock and, for the second time that day, almost bite off his tongue.

"DON'T DO THAT!" He yelled. "Can't you come up the front path instead of materializing?!"

Taking no notice of him, their heads bobbing up and down, they asked, "What brings you here, Young Master Ichigo?"

"I just wanted to know if-" He was denied the opportunity to continue.

"Mistress Shiba doesn't want to see anyone right now." One of the genies told him.

"I don't want to see Kuukaku. I was looking for-"

"Master Ganjyuu is not here as well. He has gone off hunting on his pig." Ichigo was interrupted a second time by the second genie.

The other one nudged it. "It's boar." He whispered. "Master's Bonnie is a boar."

"I don't want to see either of them." A vein popped out in Ichigo's temple and his voice was controlled, with a lot of effort. "I was looking for-"

"Me?" A low voice asked.

"WILL YOU PEOPLE STOP- Ah. Yoruichi-San." Ichigo looked down at the black cat. "Yes. I was looking for you."

"And what, may I ask, were you looking for me for?" She entwined herself around his ankles, purring contentedly.

"I needed a – don't do that!- a favour. You see," Ichigo explained the events of the past few hours, filling her in on what she needed to know, at the same time trying to evade her rubbing herself all over his ankles. This finally resulted in him tripping over her and stomping on her paw, narrowly missing squashing her face.

After many yeowls and painful scratches, Ichigo finally concluded with a hopeful "So, will you help?"

"What would you do if I said no?"

"Attempt to persuade you."

"… I don't like the sound of that."

"So say yes."

"Of course. Byakuya-bo getting drunk?" She grinned, showing her canines. "I have to be there."

"Great! I owe you one." He told her.

"No. You owe me four." She fixed him with her golden gaze. "One for saving your life, two for saving your life, three for saving your life again and this one would be four."

"Whatever." He glared at her. "Let's go. I promised to be back as quick as I could." 'I have to beat Renji back.' He added mentally.

The two of them quickly zipped through Seireitei back to Ichigo and Renji's rendez-vous spot. Along the way, Ichigo suddenly remembered something.

"Yoruichi-San, you do know the layout of Byakuya's house, don't you?"

"No." Was the reply.

"Then how are you going to get into his room and get the hairclips?!" He questioned.

"I'll find it." She grinned widely. "I'm sure his house layout should be quite predictable. His room should be the one with the best view of a garden of flowers, furthest away from any roads and paths."

"Why?" Ichigo stared at her. "And flower garden?"

"In case you haven't noticed. Byakuya cannot stand any form of noise, plus he likes flowers. Just check out his sword name."

"True. We'll see, I guess."

"ICCHIIGGOOOO!!!" Renji's voice suddenly drifted over.

They looked toward the source of the noise. Renji and Shunsui were stumbling around towards them, clearly drunk. Shunsui could distinctly be heard singing "Sha-la-la-la-la" like a tone-deaf person.

"Oh no!" Ichigo dashed towards them. "How are we going to do anything if they are drunk?!"

"Leave it to me." Yoruichi smiled cheerfully. "I'm going to change back to human form."

"Huh?" Ichigo, forgetting what that implied, turned around and was greeted with the sight of Yoruichi in…well, nothing. He immediately turned beet-red and swiveled around quickly, muttering under his breath.

"I did warn you." Yoruichi mused as she produced some clothes and tugged them on.

"Sh-shut up." He dazedly replied.

"Kids…" She shook her head. Looking around at Renji and Shunsui, she found them, much to her amusement, in the form resembling two stone-statues. After they had recovered, very much sober now, Ichigo spoke up.

"Are we all clear on the plan?" He decided to run through it once more. "Shunsui and Renji, you'll go in first, pretend to talk to him about something regarding the divisions, then offer him some wine. If he refuses, dunk his head in it, for all I care. After he's reasonably drunk, which shouldn't take that much time, Yoruichi-San and I will locate his room and take the hairclips."

"Kenseikan."Three people corrected him.

"That's just a fancy name for hairclips." He insisted stubbornly, then looked around at them. "So, are we all set?"

They nodded.

"Then let's go."


	4. Here We Go!

A/N: Hello everyone I've got more time to write now because exams are… well, _almost_ over. Heh Heh. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Nope, not me.

**Here we go!**

Ichigo, Renji, Yoruichi and Shunsui headed out towards Byakuya's residence. After being held up by having to duck into numerous doorways and whatnot to avoid being spotted, considering a Ryoka, Fukutaichou, Taichou and an outlaw running around were not exactly what you would expect to see, they arrived outside his house.

Mansion, rather.

Maybe palace would be a better word.

"It's huge." Ichigo stated simply, summarizing all their thoughts.

"No kidding." Renji agreed. "Shunsui and I had better go look for the entrance."

"We'd best find a tree." Ichigo told Yoruichi. They had agreed that Renji and Shunsui would go in to distract and get Byakuya drunk, while Ichigo and Yoruichi waited until the right time.

"How do we tell you when it's safe to get in?" Shunsui asked.

"Start singing Sha-la-la-la," Yoruichi smirked. "We'll know for sure it's you."

With that, they each went their separate ways to carry out the plan.

Ichigo and Yoruichi ran along the wall surrounding Byakuya's residence. Coming to a towering oak which leant slightly over the wall, they decided it was a good place to station themselves. It gave them a good enough view over the garden as well as the winding path leading up to Byakuya's doorstep.

"We'll be able to see Shunsui and Renji coming up to the house from here." Yoruichi settled herself comfortably down on a wide branch.

"Yeah." Ichigo sighed. "Now we wait."

Searching for any sign of Renji and Shunsui, they waited.

And waited...

And waited...

Finally, when Ichigo had dozed off and been slapped awake by a bored Yoruichi for the third time and there was still no sign of the duo, he finally exclaimed, "WHERE ARE THEY?!!!" Turning to Yoruichi, he pondered, "Did we miss them?"

"I don't see how. We got here fairly quickly and they still had to get to the entrance."

"Arghh! I can't stand this!" He made to stand up, but was stopped by Yoruichi.

"Wait. What's that?" She pointed.

"It's them!" Ichigo sighed in relief. "At la-"

"No, it isn't. Its Rukia." Yoruichi squinted for a better look. Rukia walked slowly into the garden, looking around, her sword strapped to her waistband.

"What's she doing?!" Ichigo hissed. "Why is she here?!"

"What do you mean, 'why is she here'?" Yoruichi gave him a weird look.

"THIS IS BYAKUYA"S HOUSE!!" Ichigo had momentarily forgotten an important fact.

"She's his sister, you deranged dimwit." She bonked him on the head. "Is air all you have between your ears?"

Glaring at her and rubbing the tender spot on his head, he started jumping up and down and waving his hands to attract her attention. Figuring that there would be no harm in showing Rukia their intentions, seeing as she was the one who put them up to it, Yoruichi joined in.

Rukia, catching sight of their flailing limbs in her peripheral vision, turned and baulked at the sight of her friends acting like circus monkeys. Seeing them motioning frantically at her to join them, she leapt lightly up into the tree.

"Yo." She greeted.

"Rukia! Did you see Renji and Shunsui?!" Ichigo asked urgently.

"No. Should I have?"

"YES. They are supposed to be talking to Byakuya now."

"Oh." Her expression clouded thoughtfully. "Oooh." Comprehension dawned on her as she realized what they were going to do.

"By the way, what were you doing?" Yoruichi questioned.

"I was just patrolling the grounds." She replied nonchalantly. "Usually Nii-sama does it, but he's got lots of work today and- HEY! That's Renji and Shunsui!"

True enough, the two were walking up the path. Renji, having known beforehand that Ichigo and Yoruichi would be up a tree somewhere, spotted them quicky and nudged Shunsui, who tipped his hat to them amiably. They both looked somewhat surprised to see Rukia there as well.

"What took you so long?!" Ichigo mouthed at Renji, who shrugged and mouthed back, "We went the wrong way."

Deciding that was an easy thing to do with grounds of this size, Ichigo decided to let them off.

Renji and Shunsui made their way up to Byakuya's mansion. There they paused, not knowing what to do.

"Do we just go in?" Renji looked at Shunsui, unsure.

"Seeing as there's no way to knock…"

Just then, an elderly servant hobbled up, bowing to Renji and Shunsui. "Good evening, I presume you are here to see Kuchiki-sama?"

"Yes, we are." Renji told him in slight relief.

"Please come this way." The servant led them off through a maze of rooms and corridors which made their heads spin.

"No wonder Byakuya has such good memory." Shunsui chuckled merrily.

At last, they arrived in Byakuya's study. The said person was sitting rigidly at his desk, almost hidden by a mountain of paperwork. Upon noticing his 'visitors', he got up calmly and motioned for them to be seated in the available chairs, dismissing his servant with a nod.

Then, he leveled them with a gaze. "What brings you here?"

"W-well," Renji caught Shunsui's eye, they had tried to think of a subject to speak of, but were not really prepared. "We came to discuss the matter of… of… now what was it again, _Shunsui_?

"Gigais." Shunsui blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Yeah." Renji nodded. "Gigais."

"And what about the gigais?" Byakuya questioned.

"They're fake." Shunsui said immediately.

"That's right. They're…fake?" He looked at the Eighth Division captain incredulously, before saying "Ah, yes. Fake."

Byakuya surveyed the both of them suspiciously. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Shunsui declaring, "Sit down, Byakuya. Sit down. Let's talk over some sake!" He produced two bottles from beneath his robes.

"It helps you think better." Renji offered his captain a glass, which was also courtesy of Shunsui.

Byakuya was starting to feel like he was in the company of two madmen. "I don't drink sake."

"Oh, come on Byakuya. Everyone drinks sake. This one is especially mild." Shunsui, lied, encouraging the baffled Sixth Division Captain, who accepted the cup (of the strongest sake Shunsui could find) Renji was holding out to him, staring at it as though it was a venomous creature. Then, not wanting to appear rude, he tentatively took a sip.

Renji and Shunsui resisted the strong urge to applaud as they drank their sake as well.

The multitude of expressions that went across Byakuya's normally impassive face as he swallowed almost caused Shunsui and Renji to spit their mouthfuls of sake out.

Looking miffed, Byakuya continued at where they left-off. "Fake gigais? When did you encounter this?"

"Ah… You see, all the gigais lately produced by Urahara-San have been… lacking in quality… and… um…" Renji dragged the innocent store-tender and ex-captain into the fray while watching Byakuya take another mouthful of sake.

"Have pink kimonos on." Shunsui concluded, this time causing Byakuya to choke on the sake he had just drunk.

"I beg your pardon?" Shuddering, Byakuya was about to place the loathsome cup on the table, but Shunsui insisted he finish it. Wanting to be rid of the accursed thing, he downed the whole thing in one gulp, only to have Shunsui pour some more in. Being too courteous to deny him, he conceded to his fate.

After fifteen minutes of nonsensical conversation about how Urahara was plagiarizing Shunsui's trademark 'Pink Kimono' look, not to mention quite a few cups of sake, Byakuya realized his vision had become decidedly blurry. Not only that, but Shunsui and Renji seemed to be swimming around in a strange manner. Shaking his head to clear the images only caused him to become dizzier.

"I apologise, but I seem to be feeling slightly unwell." Standing up unsteadily, Byakuya failed to notice Shunsui and Renji punch their fists in the air victoriously. "I will take my leave. We will discuss this matter another time." Nodding slightly to them, he turned around, off balance, and took slightly hesitant steps to the doorway, putting his hand out to open the door.

Missing the handle entirely, he accidentally put his hand through the thin rice-paper covering the doors were made up of instead. The fragile paper was not nearly enough to support Byakuya's weight, causing him to fall face-first with his arm still outstretched through the doorway, creating a human-shaped tear in the rice-paper.

The sight of the regal Sixth Division Captain ploughing through his own doorway was more than Renji and Shunsui could bear. Shaking so hard with the effort of controlling their mirth, they hurried to help Byakuya back to his feet.

Meanwhile, back at the tree, Ichigo was tapping his foot impatiently, muttering "Are they done yet?" under his breath. "What's going on?" He demanded nobody in particular. "I must know what's happening."

"Oh, the suspense is_ killing_ me." Yoruichi remarked dryly, sarcasm evident in her voice. At that moment, they all heard the sound of something rip.

"That sounded like the rice-paper on the doors." Rukia tilted her head slightly. "What happened?"

"Well," Ichigo jumped down into the garden they had been staring at, Rukia and Yoruichi right behind him. "Let's not wait around anymore and go find out!"

bleachbleachbleachbleachbleachbleach

A/N: Yay! What's going to happen next? Review Review!

By the way, if you didn't know, 'Gigai' is the fake body Shinigami use when going to the real world


	5. I Dare You To!

Disclaimer: For the last time, I do not own Bleach.

A/N: I forgot to change the status of the story to (Complete), so i guess there was some confusion. Sorry about that!! Its chnged now! I'll post one more chapter if i find the time! Be patient!

**I Dare You to!**

Ichigo, Rukia and Yoruichi dashed through the garden, in the direction the sound had come from. They hurried along the corridor they had seen Renji and Shunsui disappear into, before being confronted with the same maze of rooms and corridors the other two had found. Luckily, Rukia proved a great help in guiding them along.

"Well, they most probably went to Nii-sama's study, so we'll go there first." She told them, sprinting off.

Within a few minutes, they arrived at Byakuya's study, where they found a red-faced Shunsui and Renji supporting Byakuya, who was clutching his head. In addition, the shape of the hole in the rice-paper behind them told the trio all they had to know. Rukia and Yoruichi covered their mouths and giggled discreetly, not daring to let Byakuya see them. However, Ichigo's cheeks promptly inflated so rapidly he couldn't cover his mouth in time to stop the air escaping, thus resulting in a very rude noise which caused everyone to turn and stare at him.

Including Byakuya.

Seeing his two adversaries in his house, and thinking back to the nonsense Shunsui and Renji had been blabbering not too long ago, as well as their insistence that he drink the sake, Byakuya, who was still fairly brighter than Ichigo and Renji put together in his drunken state, realized that he had been set-up.

"You…" He slowly got up. It was true, he did not know what exactly it was that he had been set-up for, but he was disgusted at appearing so undignified.

'Uh-oh.' Ichigo gulped, aware that his four companions were sending him death-glares. He shrugged, mouthing 'I couldn't help it!'

"Get out…of my house." Byakuya's hand went to Senbonzakura's hilt.

"Hey," Ichigo tried to salvage the situation. "You don't look too well, you know. You should take a break."

At being told he didn't 'look too well', Byakuya lunged at Ichigo, drawing Senbonzakura in the process and swiftly slashing at him.

Renji and Shunsui, not expecting him to attack so suddenly, did not manage to restrain him, while Ichigo was too stunned to move. The next thing everyone knew, Byakuya had missed his target of Ichigo's neck by about thirty centimeters, staggered past him, tripped over his own sandals and, unable to stop, splashed straight into his fish-pond, knocking himself out in the process.

There was silence for a few moments before everyone had to stuff their fists into their mouths to stop themselves from laughing too loudly. Then, Rukia and Yoruichi hastily pulled the sodden Sixth Division Captain out of the pond before he drowned himself.

"I'll get… him…to his room," Rukia told them breathlessly, before being consumed by another fit of laughter.

"You said the Kenseikan are in his room, right?" Renji asked her.

"Yes." She replied, distracted by the fact that she had no idea how to get her unconscious brother there. She wasn't strong enough to carry him and dragging him was out of the question, obviously.

Ichigo, catching on to her problem, immediately offered Renji's and his help in getting him there, so as to leave Rukia with no choice but to lead them straight to the Kenseikan. Supporting the still-dripping Byakuya between them, the group trooped off after Rukia.

Along the way, Yoruichi turned to Ichigo and asked "Why can't you just take the Kenseikan in his hair now?"

Ichigo and Renji both stopped and stared at each other. "Of course! We didn't even think of-"

"NO!" Rukia had whirled around and was staring at them in horror. "You can't take those! They're Nii-sama's favourite! He almost never takes them off. I have no idea how to put them back if you take them off."

"There's a difference to those things?" Ichigo quirked an eyebrow at her.

"But-" Renji protested, and was cut off.

"No." Rukia stressed again. "Please. You have no idea how mad he'd be. Just get the Kenseikan from his room, show me you have them, and then quickly put them back. I'll tell Inoue I saw you complete the dare." She turned puppy-dog eyes on them. "Plleeeeaaasseee!"

"Fine, fine." Ichigo gave in while Renji mimicked throwing up behind Shunsui.

A short while later, they were standing outside Byakuya's room. Ichigo went up to slide the door open but was instantly repelled by a strong kidou barrier.

"What?!" Ichigo turned and looked at Rukia. "You didn't tell us there was a barrier."

Rukia was scratching her head sheepishly. "I didn't know either."

"WHAT?!" Ichigo practically throttled her. "You've lived here for how long and you didn't know this?"

"Let me try." Yoruichi went up to the barrier but could not get past it either.

"Well, this calls for desperate measures." Ichigo took out Zangetsu. "Getsuga-"

"STOP!! STOP YOU BLOODY IDIOT!!" Rukia screamed before he could complete his attack. "You are going to demolish my home!"

"Sorry." Ichigo put his sword away. "Now what?"

Just then, Byakuya, who was still being supported by Renji, groaned slightly, having been awoken by Rukia's screams. Renji started looking like trembling jelly and debated on whether to drop his captain and run for his life.

"Shit." Ichigo cursed, glancing at Renji and Rukia before coming to a decision. "Renji! Take his hairclips!"

"WHAT?!" Renji stared at him incredulously. "No!"

"Do it!" He glared at the red-haired shinigami.

"But Rukia said…" Renji turned to Rukia, who appeared to be thinking hard.

"Forget it. Just take the Kenseikan and get out of here before he wakes up!" She gestured to Renji quickly.

Renji, looking traumatized and horrified, started trying to gently get the Kenseikan out of Byakuya's hair.

"You're too slow!" Ichigo hurried him. Then, unable to stand it any longer and seeing Byakuya starting to open his eyes painfully, he rushed forward and yanked the Kenseikan out himself, quite a few strands of Byakuya's hair coming out with them. Grabbing Renji, he pushed him towards Yoruichi and Shunsui, who shunpo-ed out in a mad rush, everyone falling over each other.

"Wait! Ichigo!" Rukia was tending to Byakuya now. "What am I going to tell him?"

"Anything! Just make it up!" He turned to go.

"I can't!" Rukia was petrified.

Looking over his shoulder, a grin spreading across his face, Ichigo said, "I dare you to."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed my story and my thanks to all who reviewed and favoured it!


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